Seahawks' Jones on Giants: 'Hit 'em in the mouth'

Former Cowboy familiar with NFC East style

By CLARE FARNSWORTH, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, October 3, 2008

RENTON -- Julius Jones isn't just the Seahawks' leading rusher. After playing the past four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, he's also the leading authority in the locker room on how things are done in the NFC East.

That will be vital this season, as the Seahawks will be matched against each of the teams in the NFL's toughest division. It's been especially critical this week, as the Seahawks have prepared for Sunday's game against the best team in the league's best division -- the unbeaten New York Giants.

The key to the Giants' success, which includes a 3-0 start this season and an upset of the prohibitively favored New England Patriots in the Super Bowl to end last season, has been their balance.

They rank fourth in the league in total offense, and total defense. They rank fourth in the league is rushing offense, and seventh in rushing defense. They are eighth in passing offense, and fifth in passing defense.

They are sixth in average points scored (27.7), and tied for second in average points allowed (14.3).

They have collected 13 sacks and allowed quarterback Eli Manning to be sacked only four times.

Where do you even start in attempting to topple a team that is so balanced?

"Hit 'em in the mouth," said Jones, who changed teams and divisions when he signed with the Seahawks in free agency.

Not literally, as in drawing a 15-yard penalty, an ejection, a fine -- or all three. But not figuratively, either, because the best way to match the Giants' physical style and aggressiveness is to go out and do to them what they are attempting to do to you.

The NFC East is a tough-guy neighborhood, where only the tough survive and the even tougher thrive.

Because of the NFL's scheduling format, the Seahawks have moved into the neighborhood on at least a part-time basis this season. After playing the Giants at Giants Stadium on Sunday, they will host the Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) and Washington Redskins (3-1) in November and play the Cowboys in Dallas (3-1) on Thanksgiving Day.

"This is football, man," Jones said of the division in general and the Giants specifically. "They play hard. We have to play hard, too.

"It's all about hitting them in the mouth, and whoever is most physical is going to win."

For the Seahawks offense, that means being able to continue running the ball as well against the Giants as they did against NFC West rivals San Francisco and St. Louis -- when Jones had 127 and 140 yards, and the team rushed for 169 and 245.

If Jones and the Seahawks can't move the ball on the ground, it will only play into what the Giants like to do best: Get an opponent in obvious passing situations and then pressure the quarterback into mistakes with an array of aggressive blitzes that second-year defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo learned from Philly defensive coordinator Jim Johnson while an assistant with the Eagles.

"They are very good and well-coached," Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "They had a lot of success last year -- they won the Super Bowl -- in large part because of their defense.

"They're a tough and rugged defense."

So is their offense, which relies on a pounding running game led by 264-pound back Brandon Jacobs to wear down a defense and set up play-action passes for Manning.

"You've got to stop their running game, so they can't get you off balance with play-action," Pro Bowl defensive end Patrick Kerney said.

"I know that's a boring answer. But it's the same thing week in and week out. Any team is better when allowed to pass because they want to rather than because they have to."

As difficult as Manning is to sack, the Seahawks still have to apply pressure in hopes of forcing him into ill-advised throws.

"You can't get frustrated, because you might not touch him, let alone sack him," Kerney said. "But you've got to continue to try and make him uncomfortable."

Manning has come a long way in the past year. At the start of the 2007 season, the Giants were 1-2 and there was a lot of talk about how they had kept the wrong quarterback -- because the Giants had traded Philip Rivers to the San Diego Chargers on draft day for Manning in 2004.

Now, Manning has won a Super Bowl and led comeback victories three times in the Giants' past six games.

"I missed the retraction on those assessments, I guess," Kerney cracked.

The balance Manning has displayed in overcoming his critics is a testament to his toughness, which plays into Jones' original evaluation.

"We just want to be physical, in all aspects of the game," he said.

As Jones is well aware, that's the only way to play in the NFC East.

HAWK TALK: Wide receiver Deion Branch will start against the Giants, coach Mike Holmgren said Friday. Branch has not played since tearing a ligament in his left knee during the playoff loss to the Packers in January, but has looked good in practice this week. ... Either Keary Colbert or Billy McMullen will start opposite Branch, with Bobby Engram working from the slot. ... Wide receiver Koren Robinson (knee) and running back Maurice Morris (knee) were limited in practice and might not play. ... Michael Bumpus, the rookie free agent from Washington State, will continue to return punts.